Plushi-Oh!
by Kitt Chaos
Summary: Mana's spell goes horribly awry and mass chaos ensues. Underneath all the fun fur, stuffing, felt, and fluff Yugi discovers how deeply connected to his duel monsters he really is. A Mahaad's Magic Box story. Warning - great silliness and lots and lots of hugs! Absolutely AU.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer – Everything Yu-Gi-Oh!, even unworthy crackfic such as this, is based upon Mr. Takahashi's awesome work. I do not claim any ownership to his property, merely an increasing affection for his world and characters.

Summary – Mana's spell goes horribly awry and mass chaos ensues. Underneath all the fun fur, stuffing, felt, and fluff Yugi discovers how deeply connected to his duel monsters he really is. A Mahaad's Magic Box story. Warning – lots and lots of hugs!

**Plushi-Oh!**

"Well, this is just... What's that word you use? 'Peachy'?" Yugi blinked sleep from his eyes. The voice grumbling next to his ear was only half-familiar in tone. Something completely unfamiliar and unexpected touched his ear.

"Gah!" Yugi flailed up off the bed and would have crashed to the floor but for an enormous purple pillow that suddenly appeared to catch his fall.

"Young one, what is the next level of awful beyond 'peachy'?"

Yugi blinked, and blinked, and blinked again. It didn't help. Floating a mere foot away from him was the Dark Magician plushie that Mana had crafted for his soul room. It made sense that it was here, as Yugi had fallen 'asleep' in his soul room while Yami enjoyed a few hours of relaxation and freedom using Yugi's body. What did not make sense was for the toy to be moving about on its own, casting magic, and being grumbly. Unless...

"Ma-Mahaad?!"

"As much as it pains me to admit it – yes," the toy replied.

Disconcerted with how the plushie was floating in the air, Yugi reached out and grabbed it. "What happened?"

"I was endeavoring to teach Mana how to use a minor confusion spell. Not wishing to subject any one else to the unpleasant effect, I lowered my resistance to magic so that we would know when Mana had perfected her use of the spell. Unfortunately, my pupil hadn't apply herself diligently enough to her studies, so not only did she mispronounce one of the key syllables in the spell, but also used the wrong mystic gesture-glyph at the exact same wrong moment. As near as I can fathom, instead of a simple confusion spell, Mana cast a Mass Chaos spell. This is the result."

"Can't you undo it? I mean, you are so much more powerful..."

Mahaad shook his plushie head. "All of my magic seems to be related to all things dealing with plush toys, now, instead of spirit sorcery or Dark Magic as it's supposed to. It is most..." Abruptly Mahaad dropped his face into his hand in the classic 'face-palm' gesture of extreme stress and pathos. Unfortunately, the effect was a far more comic 'face-plush' and Yugi couldn't help a tiny snicker.

"What am I going to do?!" Mahaad wailed.

Yugi sobered and snuggled the plushie tight against his chest in a non-verbal attempt to comfort. The situation was very humorous from his point of view, but it didn't take much empathy to realize it was not at all funny from Mahaad's perspective. "Don't worry. Yami and I..."

"No! Yami can't see me – like this." Mahaad struggled free from Yugi's arms to float in the air again. "I am worthless this way. It would be more than I could bear for my pharaoh to see..."

"Yugi?" Entirely familiar tones sounded in the hallway between soul rooms. "Who are you talking to?"

Mahaad stopped floating, fell to the ground, and lifelessly rolled over onto his front. Yami stopped and stood framed in the doorway.

"Uhm..." Yugi started.

"Something is wrong." Yami narrowed his eyes. "Very wrong. I can sense it. Aibou! What is happening?"

"Uhm..."

Before Yugi could formulate a reply, or do anything to stop him, Yami strode into the room and picked up the Dark Magician plush toy. Cradling it between his hands, he fixed his most searching and daunting gaze on the toy's lifelessly impassive face. "Stop pretending to be just a toy," he growled. "I can tell that you are Mahaad."

The plushie's shoulders slumped at that. Mumbled sounds of protest rumbled, too.

"What did you say?" Yami demanded harshly.

"I said you are too perceptive by half!" Mahaad yelled. Yugi only then realized that Mahaad's plushie voice was higher-toned than his usual one.

"This is a bit elaborate for a game of hide-and-seek, don't you think, Mahaad?"

"That is...! It's not...! Oooh!" Mahaad reached his arm back and whacked Yami in the nose with his plushie Dark Magic staff as hard as he could. Yami blinked at him.

"Uhm–? Ouch?"

"You...! That...!" Mahaad seemed incapable of completing a sentence in English. A string of gibberish followed that Yugi couldn't understand, but that made Yami narrow his eyes dangerously and tighten his grip.

"Yami! Uhm, let me." Yugi retrieved the Dark Magician from his partner's murderous fingers. "Obviously something has happened. Mahaad didn't do this on purpose, Mana messed up some spell or another and that's how he wound up here, and in this state. Why don't we go and find out what's happening in the Magic Box?"

Yami closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, and visibly calmed down. Imperiously, he gestured for Yugi to return Mahaad to him. After a moment, he absently started to stroke a finger across the velvety texture of the plushie spaulders of Dark Magician's armor. "Of course. But, there's something I have to tell you." At Yugi's questioning look, he continued. "While I was out I ran into Kaiba."

Yugi wondered how his heart could sink and elate at the same time, but that was Kaiba for you. He closed his eyes. Some day, they were going to have that re-match both of them craved, at a time when mitigating circumstances didn't render it meaningless for one or the other of them.

"That's why I returned early. He wants to duel."

Yugi groaned. "Not now. We've..."

Yami shook his head cutting Yugi off. "Yes, now. If we don't, he'll say we forfeit to him..."

"You can't let that, that – duelist –" Mahaad seemed unwilling, if not unable, to give Kaiba the benefit of his name. "win! Who knows? Playing my card in a duel might be just the trick to undo the Mass Chaos spell and straighten out this mess, too."

"There's a thought!" Yami agreed. "Let's do it!" Without thinking, he tossed the plushie in his hands over to Yugi to place back on the bed, as he'd done dozens of times before. Of course, when he'd done this before, said plushie was _just_ a plushie, and not one of his best friends. Mahaad squawked at the indignity of it all and refused to face Yami while he tried to apologize.

**"Motou?"** Kaiba's unmistakable voice boomed through the soul rooms. **"Stop zoning out and get your cards. That is, unless you are too frightened to duel me?"**

"Dammit!" Yami cursed. "I'll deal with you, later!" He tossed the last comment over his shoulder at his highly-offended duel monster.

– – – – –  
Author's note –

Eeee! I've been wanting to write this bit of silliness for the longest time. Now that _The Remedy_ is finished, I can finally focus my attention on writing something light, frivolous, and fun. Expect some out-of-character moments, short chapters, and the most absurd, flyweight plot. It's time to play!

Next chapter teaser – Who Let The Fluff Out?


	2. Chapter 2

"_Great_," Yugi thought sourly in his link with Yami. "_We've got Mahaad's card in our hand, but no other monster_." He glanced down at the fan of cards in his hand. Kaiba's La Jinn floated on the field already, along with a hidden card in the magic and trap zone.

"_Only one move to make_," Yami stated.

"_Yeah_." Yugi placed his Swords of Revealing Light card and lifted an eyebrow at Kaiba.

"Yes?" Kaiba growled.

"Do you want me to ramp it up to announce this card, or..."

A ghost of a smile played around Kaiba's lips. "Simply playing it will do. We both know what that card does."

Yugi did smile at that. "I end my turn."

"I might still 'ramp it up' to announce my Blue-Eyes White Dragon, but for now I'll play Battle Ox in attack mode, and place another card on the field," Seto stated with only a trace of his usual disdain and theatrics.

Yugi drew a card. "_Dammit! Still not a monster card we can play_!" He considered his cards. "_This is useless, but..._" He placed Two-Pronged Attack face-down on the field and nodded to Kaiba.

Kaiba didn't utter a word as he drew, regarded the cards in his hand, and nodded that his turn was over.

_"This is bad. He's in complete 'game-master' mode!"_

_"He's not playing just for fun,"_ Yami agreed.

_"Where are all my monster cards?!"_ Yugi groaned internally as he pulled yet another spell card and nodded that his turn was over.

"Ah," Kaiba let out a long sigh, nearly a hum of satisfaction, when he drew his card.

"_Oh, crap!_"

"I can see it in your eyes, Motou. We've dueled each other long enough you know what card I've drawn!" Sure enough, Kaiba's voice increased in volume and drama with each word. "No monsters on your side, your Swords of Revealing Light expiring this turn... Yugi, tremble in fear as my Blue-Eyes White Dragon takes – no, dominates – the field!"

Seto slapped the card down and watched in satisfaction as the programmed game effects erased the two monsters he'd sacrificed to bring his favorite monster to the field. He smiled fiercely as his dragon's roar threatened to deafen them before the beast settled back on its haunches to await his master's bidding.

"_If only Two-Pronged Attack were Trap Hole, he wouldn't be so smug!" _Yugi complained to Yami.

_"But, it isn't. Yugi, if ever there were a time for the 'heart of the cards'," _Yami stopped. Yugi could hear the smile in his partner's voice at the next words. _"Perhaps you need to believe in the 'heart of the plushie'."_

"_Yami!" _Yugi complained. Maybe he _was_ distracted from this duel by Mahaad's predicament. Perhaps he needed to push his worry about Mahaad more firmly to the back of his mind, and concentrate more carefully on this duel. Mahaad wasn't in any danger, after all. He might not like being a plush toy instead of... Well, even as a plush toy he was still a duel monster spirit, but nothing could really hurt him, so there wasn't any danger to anything except Mahaad's dignity. And, Yugi was certain even that was intact.

He drew his card. And gasped.

"_Yami!"_

_"I see it, Yugi!"_

"What did you draw, Motou? It's not like you to behave like such an amateur. Wheeler emotes when he draws his cards, but you never do," Kaiba complained.

"_I haven't got any other move_," Yugi looked at his useless array of trap and spell cards. He focused on the two monster cards in his hand, deeply regretful that he couldn't play the more powerful one. Oddly enough, the other monster card appeared to be playable, without tributes.

"I place my," Yugi deliberately mumbled the word. "Dark Magician in defense mode."

"Dark Magician? Without two tributes? Motou, that's against the rules!"

"Uhm, it's a variant of the Dark Magician," Yugi returned.

"With no tributes? And you're going to put it up against my supremely powerful Blue-Eyes White Dragon? Go ahead and play this 'variant' card." Kaiba narrowed his eyes at the monster zone on Yugi's side, waiting for Yugi to finish placing the card.

With great reluctance, Yugi did. The summoning effect bloomed. Kaiba squinted, then went very still. Yugi cringed.

"Is this some sort of joke?" Kaiba demanded in his most menacing, no nonsense, tone.

"Uhm..." Faced with the impossible task of trying to explain this to the ever-skeptical Kaiba, Yugi stalled, hoping Yami would come up with something brilliant to say. Yami didn't.

"I'll teach you to not take me seriously!" Kaiba roared. "Blue-Eyes White Dragon! Obliterate that abomination from the field – right now! White Lightning Attack!"

Blue-Eyes reared back, lined up, and spat its attack at the diminutive and vulnerable Plushie Dark Magician. With only half his usual defense points, the plushie version of the Dark Magician exploded into a cloud purple of fluff that covered the field. Yugi winced. _"I hope that wasn't really Mahaad..."_

_"It was." _Yami's mental voice was quiet and very solemn.

_"Ouch."_

"Ha, ha, ha! That's what you get for playing such a ridiculous card against me, Motou!" Kaiba crowed. "You deserve to lose! My dragon – WHAT?!"

On the field, Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon was wheezing, having inhaled some of the destroyed Plushie Dark Magician fluff.

"What did you do to my dragon?!" Kaiba narrowed his eyes at Yugi.

"Nothing! Your dragon destroyed my Dark Magician!"

The Blue-Eyes White Dragon slung its head around to regard its duelist. Kaiba could have sworn there was a look of entreaty in his dragon's blue eyes before an explosion of light blinded him. Something squishy assaulted the side of his face while he was blinking the effects of the brightness from his eyes. He flailed his arms to beat whatever it was away until he could see again.

His eyes finally deigned to focus on a tiny, Plushie Blue-Eyes White Dragon buzzing around his head, looking vainly for any opening in his flailing-arm defense to get near to him. Kaiba's utter shock stilled his movement. The plushie dragon hummed with satisfaction as it landed on his shoulder and rubbed its head along Kaiba's cheek.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me!"

"I don't know, Kaiba. He's very cute. Seems to quite like you, too. There's no accounting for taste, I suppose." Yami strode across the field to face Kaiba and offer a hand for the Blue-Eyes to regard curiously. The little dragon sniffed, then licked Yami's hand with a felt-textured tongue before returning his affectionate attention to Kaiba.

"You! What are _you_ doing here? My duel is with Yugi!"

"I have no idea what that flash was. When weird things I don't understand happen around Yugi, I manifest to deal with them." Yami winced. "Don't worry, Yugi's yelling at me for being too protective, too. Obviously, we have more pressing matters to attend to than your grudge-duel with Yugi."

"What did you do to my dragon?" Kaiba repeated.

"Nothing. Not a single, lousy thing. I think your dragon did it to itself when it destroyed my Plushie Dark Magician."

"Why on earth would you even _have_ a 'Plushie Dark Magician'?" Kaiba demanded through gritted teeth.

Yami tossed a cocky smile into Kaiba's face. "Wouldn't you like to..."

_"Yami!"_ Yugi spiritually pushed him aside to become 'active' again. "Seto, I'm sorry. I had no idea something like this would happen. Something is wrong in the Magic Box..."

Kaiba winced. "Don't remind me of that insane place."

"Uhm... Well, anyway, until I get that sorted out, I think dueling is a bad idea."

"You think?" Kaiba's reply dripped sarcasm. "Since dueling is out for me, too, kindly let me know when you've handled your little crisis. This duel is over." Kaiba snatched up his cards and returned them to his deck. "What?!"

Every card on the field vanished as it should have, including the card his Blue-Eyes White Dragon had erupted from, but the Plushie Blue-Eyes maintained its position on Kaiba's shoulder by wrapping its tail around his neck while cooing in his ear.

"Uhm... Mahaad – that is – Dark Magician was manifest in his, uhm, plushie form in my soul room before we tried to duel," Yugi stammered out at Kaiba's accusing look. "So, maybe, since Blue-Eyes is your favorite card, he's not happy to just return to your deck..."

"Peachy." Kaiba glared at Yugi. "You let me know the _very second_ you figure out how to restore my dragon to me!" With a final glare to let Yugi know he meant it, Kaiba grabbed the edge of his trench-coat (the dark blue one, today), whirled, and stalked off. He _would_ have been an imposing tower of offended and wounded pride but for the plushie white dragon perched on his shoulder who squawked imperiously at the abrupt motions. Just before his rival stalked completely out of sight, Yugi noticed Kaiba's hand creeping up to pet his cutely transformed dragon.

– – – – –  
Author's note –

Ah... Seto Torture! All is right in the world.

Next chapter teaser – Tears of (a) Toy


	3. Chapter 3

Yugi's eyes widened as his consciousness materialized in his soul room. He was worried about Mahaad, given how dramatic his exit from the battle had been. That worry appeared to be completely and tragically valid.

The plushie Dark Magician was curled into a tight ball of abandoned agony on the foot of the bed, looking for all the world as if he'd cried himself to sleep. Yugi had never wondered if plush toys could cry before this, but now it seemed a sensible and valid question. He started toward his stricken duel monster, only to find Yami's hand in the center of his chest gently blocking him. Yami's eyes were wide too, and his commiseration with his duel monster and best friend was easy to read. Yugi nodded, and stood back.

Yami sat on the bed and waited. Mahaad's wary stillness displayed his awareness that Yami was there.

Without a word, Yami reached down and stroked his hand across the currently-plushie nap of his favorite duel monster's back. His sympathetic gesture elicited indistinct mumbling.

"Was I supposed to understand that?" Yami asked politely. "I don't speak 'plushie'. Especially when he's sulking."

Mahaad uncurled at that and glared up at Yami. Yugi found the incongruous expression utterly adorable. Yami evidently did too, because he scooped the pissed-off Dark Magician up into his arms.

"I said, 'this is so hard'," Mahaad began. "Though, there are some perks, it seems. I'm not accustomed to anyone taking care of me."

"Everyone has his limits, even you. Yugi and I don't mind taking care of you until this miss-cast spell is sorted out." Yugi nodded, agreeing with Yami's statement in every way.

"I just wish that – that arrogant blowhard hadn't seen me like this," Mahaad muttered.

"'Arrogant blowhard'? Oh, you mean Kaiba," Yugi sat on the bed next to Yami and leaned into his partner's side so he could place his hand on Mahaad's velvety shoulder. "He's got his hands full with a plushie of his own." Yugi grinned.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"After you were, uhm, defeated," Mahaad winced at the memory. Yugi continued, "Uhm, well, the field was covered in, uhm, well, fluff, I guess..."

"That really hurt," Mahaad whispered.

Yami pulled him nearer, closed his arms, and squeezed comfortingly tight. "We won't duel again until this is all over," he promised. "I could tell that hurt you – and being defeated in a duel usually doesn't, right?"

"Not usually. I don't like being defeated, but it doesn't hurt. A momentary discomfort, mainly due to one's consciousness abruptly relocating to the Card Graveyard – right, Yugi?"

"That's a good way to describe it," Yugi agreed. "To finish answering your question though, there was this fluff all over the field, and Kaiba's Blue-Eyes White Dragon, the, uhm, one on the field, that is, must have inhaled..." Yugi winced at how insensitive he was sounding. A tiny plushie hand on his cheek made him open his eyes again.

"Yugi, I've been a duel monster longer than I had been a human being. I know you respect me regardless of that. So, the odd things that can happen to duel monsters don't trouble me nearly as much as you seem to think. Don't worry about the telling, just give me the facts."

Mahaad was right. He might be all plushie now, and that alteration in his nature seemed to have made him more emotional and expressive than usual, but he was still Mahaad. Yugi smiled. "Right. Well, you had your revenge upon the Blue-Eyes White Dragon for destroying you in a most unexpected way; the Blue-Eyes, after inhaling some of the purple, Dark Magician fluff floating all over the field after your defeat, himself turned into a plush toy. Further, after the duel was over, the plushie Blue-Eyes White Dragon refused to return to his card. Kaiba stalked off the field with the little toy-like dragon balancing on his shoulder."

Mahaad looked up at him. He blinked. He blinked again. His face crumpled up and Yugi worried that he'd been too blunt and insensitive with his explanation despite Mahaad's reassurances.

"Bwahahaha!"

Yugi looked at Yami in alarm. Yami blinked at Yugi, then looked down at the hysterically laughing plushie spellcaster still cradled across his lap. It wasn't until Mahaad pitched out of Yami's arms and started heading floor-ward, too overcome by hilarity to float, that Yami's stupefaction lifted enough for him to snag the falling Dark Magician from the air.

"It _was_ funny," Yami allowed with a crooked grin.

"It really was," Yugi agreed. "Kaiba was trying so hard to be impressive with his threat, too. The whole while the plushie Blue-Eyes was rubbing against his cheek and cooing in his ear!"

"'Co-co-cooing'?!" Mahaad pounded his plushie fist on Yami's leg in his delight. "I wish I could've seen that! Serves him right, thinking he's always so much better than me!"

"The dragon, or Kaiba?" Yugi mouthed at Yami over Mahaad's head.

"Kaiba," Yami mouthed back. "but I think it's extended to the dragon, too."

Yami stood up, still holding the plushie Dark Magician in his arms. "I suppose we better get to the root of the problem, and figure out what we need to do to restore you to normal. Though you are insanely cute in this form!"

Mahaad glared at him. Yami snickered, then opened his arms permitting Mahaad to float free.

"Have you got any ideas, Mahaad?" Yugi asked.

"One. It depends upon whether or not the Atelier shields the advanced Dark Magic users from what happened to me, though."

Yugi thought about that for a moment. "Wait – you think there might be a plushie Dark Sage, or a plushie Magician of Black Chaos?"

Yami snickered again. "He'd be a Magician of Plushie Chaos!"

Yugi gifted his partner with a glare of his own. "Focus, Yami!" He cupped his chin and thought for a moment. "If the Atelier does protect your advanced selves from what happens to you, won't they become – plushified – as soon as you enter the Atelier?"

Mahaad nodded. "That's right. I was very careful to avoid doing just that. In fact, once this happened to me, I came here straightaway, to avoid 'contaminating' anyone in the Magic Box."

"Good idea."

"I bet it was more so no one else saw you like this," Yami said.

"Yami!" Yugi protested.

Mahaad, plushie though he was, contrived to blush. "Well, it would be hard for me to function as the arbiter when needed, if this were widely known." He spread his arms to indicated his currently plushie self.

"You know they'd respect you despite that," Yami noted. "But, we'll go with the idea you were protecting everyone else from turning into toys to spare you, my oh-so-dignified friend!"

– – – – –  
Author's note –

Next chapter teaser – Everything's Coming Up Plushies!


	4. Chapter 4

"Oh – dear," Yugi breathed, once his consciousness materialized in the Magic Box. Yami just stared. Mahaad took one look, and then performed his unwittingly adorable face-plushie action again.

The entire Magic Box was plush. The springy, soft grass was a too-bright-to-be-natural shade of green, the tree trunks were flocked and fuzzy, and diving toward them in greeting from the suspiciously furry-appearing blue sky was a plushified version of Curse of Dragon. Yugi was the only one with enough presence of mind to give the diminutive and disturbingly plushie skeletal dragon a landing spot on his shoulder.

One by one the rest of the monsters of Yugi's deck approached, some of them with trepidation and embarrassment for their currently non-impressive state. Everon, the Summoned Skull skulked in the back until Shelleene shoved him forward by ramming him from behind. The Kuriboh appeared to be least affected by the transformation. Yugi reasoned it must be that even though she was a fiend, she more or less resembled a plushie to begin with. She didn't let up shoving Everon forward, a feat she would not normally be able to do, until she pushed her friend all the way up to Yami's shin. The contact broke Yami's shocked paralysis enough for him to kneel down and hug the currently not-quite-fearsome Summoned Skull.

"Oh – dear," Yugi repeated.

"The Atelier!" Mahaad gasped, taking off toward the center of the Magic Box in a floating rush. Yugi followed so closely that he smacked face-first into Mahaad when the spellcaster abruptly stopped and propelled the Dark Magician forward to collide with the padded wall of the felt-fashioned Atelier.

"No! No!" Mahaad cried out in dismay.

"Yes! Yes!" the Magician of Black Chaos retorted.

"Not you too?!"

"It is not by my hand that I am given plushie form," the Magician of Black Chaos replied with incongruous gravity.

"But, I left as soon as..."

"As soon as it happened to you, it overtook all of us, and the Magic Box, too," Chaos interrupted.

"Oh – dear," Yugi said for the third time, as if his mental groove were stuck in a loop.

The Magician of Black Chaos wheeled on Yugi and loomed intimidatingly over him. Or – tried to. Yugi couldn't help but reach out and pull this appealingly miniature version of his normally threatening duel monster into his arms for an affectionate squeeze. Chaos sighed. "This is partially your fault, you know," he finally said.

Yugi let him go in surprise. "My fault? I don't have any magic!"

The Magician of Black Chaos grinned impishly, then bonked Yugi on the head with his flocked staff. "Yes, you do, but we can debate that matter another time. What makes this your fault is also the reason we are as effective as we are, and why we enjoy being duel monsters in your deck."

Yugi blinked at him. "Pardon?"

Mahaad and Yami started nodding in unison as each reasoned to what the Magician of Black Chaos meant.

"The heart of the cards, Yugi," Yami said at the same time as Mahaad noted, "Your deep connection with us."

Yugi turned to stare at Yami. Mahaad's currently plushie face bore exactly the same earnest expression as Yami's, causing Yugi to shift his head from side to side to look at both of them in confusion. The Magician of Black Chaos laughed.

"I'll explain it in more simple terms. Mahaad is not only very powerful as the Dark Magician, he still bears much of the magic he learned as a spirit sorcerer. It is the combination of those magics, as well as a touch of Millennium Item magic, that enabled him to create the Magic Box in the first place."

"Millennium Item magic?" Yami repeated. "But, he no longer has the Millennium Ring."

"I never said it was the Millennium Ring, now did I?" The Magician of Black Chaos demanded. "No, it's the magic of the Millennium Puzzle that helps to power the Magic Box."

"How...?" Yami began.

Yugi nodded. "That makes sense, because – because..." He stopped, as if he were trying to figure out a way to explain his realization.

"You identify with me. Your identification with me is so deep that it enables me to unconsciously tap the power of the Millennium Puzzle – through you, Yugi," Mahaad said softly. "I suspected as much since the beginning."

"But..." Yugi's eyes narrowed. "Why do I get the sense you created the Magic Box before I solved the Millennium Puzzle?"

"Because I did," Mahaad replied.

Before Yugi could do more than open his mouth to ask further about the seeming paradox of that, someone interrupted him. "Ma-Master?" The voice was high, light, and quavered with trepidation.

"Mana." Mahaad's voice, plushie though it was, deepened into a gravely displeased tone. "Show yourself."

Even though her apprehension made her reluctant, the Dark Magician Girl stepped forward. Yugi had never quite decided if Mana was exotically beautiful as Vialla was, or girlishly cute as, as – well Rebecca Hawkins was – even with her annoying teddy bear. In plushie form, Mana pinned the needle on the girlishly cute end of the meter so hard it would have catapulted Rebecca and her teddy bear into next week if they'd been around. It didn't hurt that Mana's outfit was normally toned in light blue and pink, and her staff, while still a magical weapon of no little power, normally bore a subtle curlicue shape. In her plushie incarnation, the pastel palette of her armor was intensified, and the curlicue of her staff was exaggerated to a vaguely ridiculous degree. Her oddly styled helmet or hat or whatever it was (Yugi had never quite decided and was afraid to ask) kept slipping down over one eye, so she had to hold it up with one hand. The only thing marring her total win on the cuteness scale was the true distress on her plushie features.

"Master, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean...!"

Mahaad's expression softened. "I know you didn't. Yugi knows you didn't. Everyone knows you didn't mean for this to happen. Why didn't you apply yourself to your studies more carefully? What distracted your attention?"

"It was – a game. Time just got away from me. I'm sorry, Master," Mana hung her head. Yugi wanted to scoop her up in his arms and comfort her, but knew such an action would undermine what Mahaad was trying to do.

"And this is the result." Mahaad made a sweeping motion with his arm indicating Mana, the Magic Box, the Magician of Black Chaos, all of Yugi's duel monsters, and finally himself. "If you are not able to apply yourself more carefully to your studies, I will not be able to tutor you in more advanced magic. High level magic in the wrong hands is a dangerous thing."

Mana gasped. "I would never do anything evil –!"

"I don't suggest that you would. But magic in the hands of someone who is ignorant or careless is just as dangerous as magic in the hands of someone who is black-hearted."

Mana's expression crumpled. "I understand, Master."

"Good. For now, I need you to go out to the perimeter of the Magic Box and determine where the – the –"

"Plushification?" The Magician of Black Chaos supplied.

Mahaad nodded. "–plushification ends and the margin of the Shadow Realm begins. Pay careful attention to how the characteristics of the Magic Box give way, or blend, or meld, or otherwise meet the edge of the Shadow Realm. You may take company along, if you wish, but this is an important assignment. I need a clear and accurate report when you return. You have until the end of the day."

Mana looked up, her expression lightening with hope. Mahaad chuckled. "Despite all of this," His gesture encompassed everything again. "you _are_ my apprentice. I won't abandon your education because of one mistake. Bring me a detailed report and prove that you are willing and able to focus your attention properly when necessary, accept the punishment for causing this situation without complaint, and _perhaps_ I won't regret my decision to continue to teach you."

"Yes, Master! I mean, no, Master! I mean, you won't have to regret anything! I'll do well, and bring a good report..." Rowan and Vialla each grasped one of Mana's elbows and pulled her away from the Dark Magician while she was still gibbering.

"We will help Mana with her assignment." Despite the plushification, the Mystical Elf maintained her customary air of gentle concern and solemn grace. Mahaad nodded.

"As tricky as dealing with Mana's exuberance is, it is the least of our concerns," the Magician of Black Chaos noted.

"I know. Have you any ideas?"

"One. But, I would like to ponder it deeply, as only _we_ can, before it is articulated."

Mahaad winced.

"What is it? What does that mean?" Yugi asked. Mahaad glanced at all the plushie duel monsters paying rapt attention to their every word, and turned to enter the Atelier. He held the door, silently asking Yugi, Yami, and The Magician of Black Chaos to proceed him.

Once inside, Mahaad sighed. "The Chaos Magician wants me to meet with all the Dark Magic wielders in your deck in the Atelier."

Yugi appeared puzzled.

"They are all different aspects of me. What the Magician of Black Chaos is suggesting is that I enter the central chamber and permit all the spiritual boundaries that keep each wielder of Dark Magic discrete from all others to fall – basically becoming all possible aspects of the Dark Magician at once. It is a very effective way to ponder tricky magical problems, but it is uncomfortable to be every related Dark Magic user at the same time, and tends to give me a headache."

"I bet," Yami said. Yugi just looked at Mahaad, and shivered. He liked him, and admired him, but there were times, like now, when Mahaad reminded Yugi that he was no longer human. Yugi knew that, Mahaad was the Dark Magician after all, but sometimes Yugi forgot what that really meant. "Is there any way we can help?"

Mahaad shook his currently plushie head. Even though he was so serious, his improbable transformation lent an solemnly silly air to everything. "I'll be fine." He squared his soft, fun-fur clad shoulders. "Let me get this over with and figure out how to undo this mess." He struggled for a moment to pull open the invisible door in the middle of the Atelier, but managed in the end, and floated through.

The Chaos Magician followed. "We'll be back, soon."

"Chaos, wait just a moment," Yugi asked. The Magician of Black Chaos paused. "How is this going to work – exactly?"

The Magician of Black Chaos pulled his legs up as if he were sitting in the air, and cupped his chin. "I don't know if I can explain it exactly, but Mahaad has the power, as a spirit sorcerer, to render each of us into a purely spiritual form – basically pure potential. Since we are all merely different aspects of him, once we are in that state, Mahaad can absorb each Dark Magic user's potential, accept all that power, as well as all of our slightly different viewpoints. It is the ultimate polymerization, in a way, one that only Mahaad can perform, and only on himself. It has been an effective way for Mahaad to find solutions to serious magical problems in the past."

Yugi imagined it. He had no idea what such a potent magic user would look like, but the power level Mahaad could wield if he had – no, if he _were_ all the Dark Magic users at once staggered his mind. "So, here in the Atelier, he can become the – the ultimate Dark Magician?" Yugi asked.

"That's one way to look at it. It is very uncomfortable for him – for all of us, really, to be that ultimate Dark Magician, though. The ability is very rarely used." The Magician of Black Chaos floated in front of them a moment more to see if there were any other questions, then followed Mahaad through the door. It closed behind him.

"I guess we wait," Yami said, absently picking up a fuzzy-appearing beaker from the midst of what appeared to be a weird cross between an alchemy experiment and a toy store strew across the surface of the work table. "I wonder what this is supposed to be?"

– – – – –  
Author's note –

Rain from the leading edge of Hurricane Sandy has started to fall outside my window. The next few days promise to be a bit nerve-wracking because of this storm, and it's likely that I'll lose power which could last for several days. Even though I might not have access to the internet or computer, I can still work on Plushi-Oh! using a good, old-fashioned, solid state, no electricity required notebook.

Next chapter teaser – A Turn for the Plushie


	5. Chapter 5

**A Turn for the Plushie**

Mahaad refused to meet their eyes squarely when he stepped though the invisible door into the workroom of the Atelier, again.

His grim manner alarmed Yugi. "What? What is it?"

Mahaad winced and lifted a tiny, plushie hand to his forehead. "My apologies. It seems as though even transformed, I am still vulnerable to migraines whenever I do that." Shaking his head gently, Mahaad put the concerns for his condition to one side.

"Did you find out anything? Is there a way to undo this?" Yami demanded.

"Magic wrought this, so of course there's a way. Magic is the making of improbable things to happen, and reality has this tendency to want things to be ordered and make sense. Eventually, somehow, this would revert back to normal..."

"But?" Yami tapped his foot. "I sense a 'but' coming along."

"But... The Magic Box itself is a working of magic, and thus not in full accord with reality. It requires – maintenance. Magical maintenance I can no longer provide. So, if we allow nature to take her course, eventually Yugi's deck will return to normal."

"But, that's good, right?" Yugi asked.

"Not necessarily. Notice how Mahaad said your deck would return to normal, not that your duel monsters would," Yami pointed out.

"Exactly. It would happen at approximately the same time – us returning to 'normal' for the Magic Box, and the Magic Box dissipating beyond my ability to manipulate and support the magic that powers it. The Magic Box itself is one of those improbable things that nature doesn't like," Dark Magician told them.

"So you'd no longer be plushie, but you'd no longer be...?" Yugi stopped in horror at the direction his thoughts were heading toward.

"We would no longer 'be' at all. We would become unawakened card spirits, again. The possibility that Mana and I would forget our former lives would be very high, too. If you were able to re-awaken me, which I believe you would do, I would most likely be 'the Dark Magician' but no longer 'Mahaad'. Each individual spirit would dissipate."

"You would die?!"

Mahaad sighed deeply. "It might be something to endure if that were the case, as it could serve as a way for Mana and me to achieve the afterlife, but no. We would simply be no more."

Yugi's mouth dropped open at the terrible thought. Mahaad, and Mana, gone? Not dead, just gone? If they, who were once human and as 'real' as he was, were to simply disappear like that, it would be the same for those card spirits who had never been human – Shelleene, Vialla, Everon, Akai... Yugi didn't want to lose all his friends, no matter what had to be done to save them.

"But, this is terrible! There has to be something we can do – something else – that would save you! All of you!" Yugi turned his pleading gaze from Mahaad to Yami in the beginning of a full-blown panic.

There is, but you won't like it," the Magician of Black Chaos said from behind them. The tiny, plush duel monster drifted into the main room unsteadily, clutched at his head, and dropped from the air. Yugi dove forward and caught him before he fell.

"Chaos! What happened?"

The blue-faced duel monster's right eye opened a slit so he could look at Yugi's face. "This is just the side-effect of Mahaad's – polymerization. It always takes more out of me than the rest since I've got a measure of Light, as well as Darkness, in my spirit. I become something of a necessary but painful inclusion in the merge. To mitigate the effect on Mahaad, I assume the full burden of the strain that causes, and I always go unconscious afterward from the pain." Chaos shook his head as if casting off bad thoughts, opened both eyes fully, and drifted up out of Yugi's hands. "Still," A smirk crossed his face. "I wanted to be the one to tell you."

"Uhm... okay..."

"The only path to undo this that we were able to discover is strange, to say the least. The process is crafted of a collusion of many things. Your connection to Yami is of critical importance, for a reason I will explain eventually. Your connection to us, your 'heart of the cards', is of equal importance. Your identification with the Dark Magician, coinciding with the fact that the particular Dark Magician you identify with in your deck is Mahaad, the First Dark Magician, and the creator of the Magic Box in the first place, is the means for setting up a massive sympathetic backlash spell."

"Wait!" Yami interjected. "Mahaad, that doesn't mean...?" Mahaad nodded gravely and opened his mouth.

"Mahaad! Don't you dare ruin this moment for me!" Chaos warned. Mahaad smiled bitterly and wryly, and nodded toward the Chaos Magician instead of answering Yami.

"Yugi, in order to restore the Magic Box, and us, to the way we were, and save us from nature's way of returning all things magical to a mundane status quo," The Magician of Black Chaos paused and took a deep breath. "is for you, yourself, to become plushie, like us, then, while wishing with all your heart, and reaching out to us through the heart of the cards more strongly than you ever have before, return to your normal, human state. Your connection to Yami, the connections we have with you, the connections you have with us, and the sheer power of the magic forces that will be called into play should undo Mana's spell on Mahaad, and return all of us, and the Magic Box, to normal. Well, what passes as normal for us, that is."

Yugi's mouth opened, but no words came out. "Yami is your anchor to your human self, to our way of thinking. You permit him to share control of your body, and your soul aligns with his. We aren't concerned at all that you would be in any sort of danger from this. If we were, we would endure entering oblivion, instead of risking you," Mahaad said.

"That's good to know," Yami retorted. "There's got to be another way! Can't Mana just say the same thing backwards? Isn't that how counter-spells are done?"

"You know better," The Magician of Black Chaos fixed Yami with a steely-eyed glare. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't manage it with his plushie features. Still, it had the desired effect. Yami nodded.

"We can't do anything. My magic has been altered along with my nature." Mahaad seemed distressed. "For me to try to do anything with magic to undo this mess, while my magic is in the disarray that it is, would only deepen the severity of the problem. It took all my effort to manage the spirit merge spell – a spell that normally takes the merest touch of my magic. As it is, I believe it only worked because we are all currently in a plush state. If even one aspect of me had not been plushie..."

Chaos finished. "It would have been very bad."

Yugi pondered deeply. He believed Mahaad. He knew that none of his duel monsters, but especially Mahaad, would put him in danger, or even just discomfort if they could prevent it. He recalled the intricate, sympathetic magic spell that Mahaad had crafted to restore Akai when Akai's will and magic turned his card, and himself, into the Dark Magic Ritual. Because of that, Mahaad's suggestion made a weird sort of sense to Yugi.

He identified with the Dark Magician, who was Mahaad. Coincidentally, Mahaad was not only the one who created the Magic Box as a special refuge for the monsters of Yugi's deck in the first place, he was the First Dark Magician – a distinction that gave him some unidentifiable extra ability. He, Yugi, had solved the Millennium Puzzle, which had unlocked whatever ability _he_ had to work magic. Somehow, he always managed to forget that about himself – that he himself worked magic. Chances were really high that his 'heart of the cards' was a product of that magic, or at least enhanced by it. Finally, there was Yami, who, as his soul-partner could serve as his anchor back to normal. It was elegant, and it made perfect sense.

He could become a plushie, deepening his connection to and identification with his duel monsters in general, and Mahaad in particular. Then, using his will, his magic, and his connection to Yami (which would most certainly bring the power of the Millennium Puzzle into play) he could return to normal. After Yugi's deepening his connection to all his duel monsters, especially the Dark Magician, Mahaad would be able to reach into Yugi's magic and through that the power of the Millennium Puzzle, which should be sufficient to return him to normal, and that, in turn, would return everyone else to normal.

"Is it – weird – being a plushie?" Yugi asked in a low voice.

Mahaad just stared at him for a long moment. There weren't many who would even consider such an odd thing. Truly, Yugi was special indeed.

"Yes. Very weird. But not painful, or scary," Mahaad replied truthfully. "Not painful if you aren't defeated in a duel, that is."

"Or have to invoke weird self-spells to ponder magical problems," the Magician of Black Chaos added.

"You're _certain_ I can get back to normal?"

"Yes. We have no concern at all about that part of the spell," Mahaad replied truthfully.

"Well, then," Yugi paused and took a deep breath. "let's try it."

"Yugi! No!" Yami protested.

"What else can I do? I'm not going to do nothing and watch as all my friends die!"

"There's got to be another way!"

Yugi dropped his chin in an impatient gesture at his partner, then turned his head to look very obviously at Mahaad. "If there were, he would have found it."

"Well, yeah..."

"So, the sooner I do this, the sooner I, and Mahaad, and everyone else in the Magic Box, returns to normal."

Yami muttered something.

"Pardon?"

"It should be me," Yami repeated in a slightly louder yet still low tone of voice.

"You... what?"

Yami looked up and locked his gaze on Yugi's eyes. "If anyone is going to do this, and become plushie it should be me. I'm not exactly a normal human anymore – and you are. If something goes wrong..."

Yugi couldn't help it. Yami's concern touched him deeply. He sidled over, and wrapped his arms around his partner's shoulders. "Yami, that's awesome that you..."

"It would be pointless. While he does have a very deep connection with Mahaad, it is not the duelist/shadow monster connection that is required," the Magician of Black Chaos warned. "And Yugi, you do not yet have the facility to channel the necessary magic of the Millennium Puzzle properly." The Chaos Magician turned and stared at Yami. "You have your role in all of this – don't doubt it. But it is our duelist, the one who shares the 'heart of the cards' connection most deeply with us, who must become like us. Anything less will not suffice."

"I still don't like it."

"I'm not thrilled about it." Yugi reconsidered. "Well, it's not something that I really _want_ to do, like I woke up this morning and wondered what it would be like to be a plush toy, but I don't mind. Especially as it will help all my friends return to normal."

"All right."

"Mahaad, what do I have to do?"

"You have to stand still and endure an attack by the Dark Magician," The Magician of Black Chaos informed him.

"Wait a minute! An attack?!" Yami stepped in the way. "No one said anything about Yugi being attacked!"

"Yami!" Yugi glared. "You think you would have learned by now – I can make my own decisions," Yugi said. "This is the only way to undo this. I'm not concerned about the dueling. I'd give up dueling forever if I had to for my friends. But, if I don't do this, they are doomed to – to fade away. That isn't acceptable to me – not if I can do something about it. Even if it means being attacked by the Dark Magician."

Yami glared at Yugi, who continued to glare at him. Yami finally lowered his eyes. "You win, aibou. But I still don't like it." He stalked off to stand next to the Magician of (currently) Plushie Chaos.

"I wish there was another way," Mahaad muttered. "Forgive me, my master!" He lifted his staff and took aim at Yugi. Yugi didn't flinch. He knew he was going to be attacked, and it might hurt, but a plushie Dark Magician taking such care to aim his attack so meticulously at him was so cute he wanted to dash over and scoop the spellcaster up into his arms again. As it was, he was hard-pressed not to smile.

"Close your eyes, please!" Mahaad begged. "This is hard enough to even think about doing without having you watch me do it."

Yugi obeyed, trying hard not to flinch. Something squishy hit him square in the face. A warm sort of energy surrounded him. His eyes opened automatically in surprise before some paralysis came over him and he lost his balance. As he fell over, he couldn't help but notice the myriad of purple pillows, each one carefully stitched with the words 'Dark Magic Attack!' picked out in green thread flying toward him. As he went down under the barrage of pillows Yugi would have smiled, if he could have moved. It didn't hurt, though he was slightly worried he couldn't move. It was the most adorable attack he'd ever seen, much less endured.

Outside the transforming pillow pile, Mahaad, who had been holding up more or less with his customary aplomb and dignity, stood agape at the current silliness of his attack. The Magician of Black Chaos touched him on the shoulder in sympathy.

"You! Get away from me! You are enjoying this – I can tell! Perhaps you sabotaged Mana's lesson, distracting her with some shiny thing so that she didn't practice enough. I haven't trusted you ever since you were the Lord Dragon in that adventure," Mahaad declared bitterly.

The Magician of Black Chaos pulled his hand back as if burned. Though still tiny in stature, and fuzzy in appearance, he managed to assume a grim expression. "I see. Even after the spirit merge, you still do not understand – no, you understand well enough, how could you not? You do not accept. You do not accept me." A bleak expression filled the adorably chaotic eyes. "Very well. I will take my distressing presence elsewhere." He looked at Yami, glanced at the Dark Magic Attack! pillow pile (which was starting to shift and move) shook his head sadly while regarding Dark Magician and floated off.

* * *

Magic had always been a part of his very being. Even before he learned to speak he had shaped tiny magics with the innocent and instinctive joy of a child. He had endured failures along the way, deepening and mastering his soul's craft. While some who practiced magic deemed his transmutation from human magician into shadow monster as his greatest failure, he knew it to be the apex of his craft as a human being. He had suffered many mystic mishaps and missteps along the way while learning the entirely new and alien magic of the Dark Magician, but such failures had always been private matters. This disaster that had overtaken not only him, but also all the monsters of the Magic Box was more than he could bear.

He could hear how high-pitched his voice had become. To his ears he sounded like a squeak toy. If holding his staff with a thoroughly unconscious motivation was not so deeply ingrained into his psyche after the millennia, he would have thrown it from him in disgust at how silly it appeared now. Mana was terribly cute – indeed, all of his fellow duel monsters were cute, but there was no way he was anything other than ridiculous in this pathetic state. It had taken all his courage to manifest before the young one to seek help, and it was nearly more than he could bear that his pharaoh had seen him this way. Despite the fact he could be defeated in duels by monsters of superior force, it was important that Yami knew Mahaad would always reply, would always be reliable, and some how, in some way, the forces of evil would never prevail against them if they were united heart to heart in their efforts.

Except, the forces of evil would most likely laugh themselves to death if they beheld the vaunted 'Dark Magician' now. Yugi and Yami tried, they really did, and in some measure they succeeded, a tribute to both young men, with regarding Dark Magician in his plush-toy form with their usual respect and affection. Because of that, because of the familiar comfort, in a very weird way, of the spirit merge spell, he'd almost forgotten how silly he must appear now. All that crashed to pieces with the very first 'Dark Magic Attack!' pillow that served as solid evidence of how pathetic and ludicrous he had become. He slumped to his knees, and covered his face with his hands. He wished he could just sink into a hole in the ground and never have to face anyone, ever again.

Something squeezed his shoulder.

– – – – –  
Author's note

Next chapter teaser – The Best Laid Plans of Plushies and Men


	6. Chapter 6

**The Best Laid Plans of Plushies and Men**

He looked up into the most concerned, gentle, and utterly adorable expression he'd ever seen. Something about it, not just the warmth behind it, but the absolute craftsmanship evident in Yugi's plush face made Mahaad's gaze drop to where Yugi's hand rested on his shoulder. Mahaad, in bemused wonder, picked it up and looked at it.

"There's not a single stitch," he stated aloud.

"Wh-what?" Yugi asked. Mahaad noted the higher register Plushie Yugi spoke in, but filed it away for future consideration. He was far more fascinated with the evidence before his eyes and open to the questing touch of his hand.

He turned Yugi's hand over, and presented his own side-by-side. Yami loomed as he leaned over the two diminutive plushies and peered down. "You see how there are stitches showing how my plush form was put together." Indeed, though they were tiny and finely wrought, stitches ran the length of Dark Magician's plushie hand, joining the pieces of fabric together. "There's not a single stitch in your hand - or I suspect anywhere in you."

"What does that mean, Mahaad?" Yugi asked. "Am I not really plushie...? Did something go wrong?"

Yami's chuckle sounded like distant thunder. "Exactly the opposite, aibou. If I know my friend here at all, he was lamenting the fact his attack was so silly not just because he thinks it looks silly (and he feels in some way it damages his dignity) but that it would show some lessening in the skill he uses whenever he shapes magic." Despite himself, Mahaad nodded. Yugi looked up at him, only then realizing that even though both were now plush toys, he was still significantly shorter, a fact that didn't stop a questioning look from crossing his now plushie face.

"My pharaoh knows me all too well. Truly this is a difficult experience for me. It has been more than a lifetime since I was last - frivolous. To be turned into this... It is almost more than I can bear. When I saw how inane my attack has become," Mahaad shook his head. "Oh, my masters, I hope this ordeal is over soon! To think that my magic, which I have fought so long and so hard for, and for which I have given such a high price as my own life has been reduced to flinging pillows!" Yami struggled to hide his smile. The incongruity of Mahaad grousing in his usual, wordy way while appearing to be a mere plush toy version of himself nearly caused him to laugh out loud.

"But, it wasn't you..." Yugi began.

"All but. I am Mana's master in magic. She is my student. When she fails, so do I. This spectacular failure is my fault."

Yugi looked up, and up and over Mahaad's head to meet Yami's eyes. Yami quirked a grin, lifted an eyebrow, and eloquently shrugged a 'what can you do?' shoulder at him.

"But, Mahaad..." Yugi almost flinched as Mahaad flung a challenging glare at him. Plushie though it might be, it was still the displeased expression of the Dark Magician - something that could even give a Blue-Eyes White Dragon pause. "You said it yourself - there's not a stitch in me. I'm not about to show you, but I can feel it, if that makes any sense. So, explain to me why that is, and what it means." Again, over Mahaad's head, Yami grinned, and nodded. Yugi knew that even though he might be plushie, and Yami not, their hearts and minds were still connected through their link with the Millennium Puzzle. It would take far more than Mana's misuse of magic to disturb that connection.

"Mana's magic transformed me, and through me, the Magic Box and everyone in it, but _I_ transformed you," Mahaad said, and stopped, as if that were the end of it.

"So, the reason I don't have stitches..." Yugi began.

"And appears as though he were merely born to a race of people who just happened to be plushie instead of flesh and blood..." Yami continued.

"Instead of looking like I'm just an animated plush toy that was hand-crafted by a person _is_...?" Yugi finished, leaving the question hanging in the air.

"Is the effect of my skill and talent with magic. Yes." Mahaad smiled shyly and ducked his head. "And yes, it does help me to calm down and see the humor of the situation a little better. Is that what you were after, my masters?"

"Mahaad, you really don't have to worry about your dignity or your magic. We respect you; everyone in the Magic Box respects you; everyone knows this is Mana's fault and no one blames you that she messed up her spell and caused this in the first place. I certainly haven't lost any respect for you, and I'm just so glad that you came to us for help when this whole thing happened. We can get everything back to normal, I know we can; because nothing can stand against us, well me and Yami for sure, but I think you are most definitely part of it whenever the 'heart of the cards' is in play because I respect you so much..."

Yami picked up his currently tiny partner and placed a finger across his lips to stop the chattering flow of words. "He might be plushie, but he's still Yugi. You can tell by his babbling," Yami noted laconically.

"It is best if we undo this quickly. In the past, one of the cornerstones of my magic is that nothing would ever harm you here in the Magic Box, but I don't know how strong that intent is now that I am rendered into a plushie state. We should make haste so that Yugi is returned to normal as soon as possible. I can think of at least one who does not respect me to the extent that Yugi claims."

Yami shook his head wondering what Mahaad was talking about.

"The Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Normally, only select monsters of Joey's deck are able to come here on their own - all others must be formally admitted. But, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon is now plushie, even as I am - I'm not sure how that affects my wards. He might be able to get past them."

"He seemed entranced with Seto, so I don't think he'd bother you," Yugi offered.

Mahaad crossed his arms around himself and reached up to grasp his own shoulders. "When he attacked me, this plush toy form betrayed me. I've been blasted by the various attacks of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, indeed the highest attack from the Ultimate Blue-Eyes White Dragon, before, but it never hurt me as that last attack did. My magic might be in some disarray, but there was something more, something deeper in that attack. In less than an instant, the stuffing within me now super-heated to beyond a solid state, and blasted me apart from within. It was like he wanted to turn me inside out. That is the sense I got from the dragon before my consciousness dissipated. That there is a desire to unmake all the way to the core of being."

"Don't fret," Yami advised. "Even if a Blue-Eyes White Dragon got lost and wound up in the Magic Box, he'd have to get by all the monsters of our deck," Yami lifted a hand to stop Mahaad's protest. "Then past _you_, and then past _me_, to get to Yugi. It's not going to happen. And, even though Kaiba doesn't subscribe to it, the heart of the cards is part of his deck, too. The dragons wouldn't do anything that Kaiba didn't want them to - and, don't breathe a word of this to him either one of you," Yami interrupted himself to glare at both the plushies staring adorably up at him. "even _I_ know that he doesn't want to hurt Yugi. Beat him in a duel, yes, but really hurt him, no. So, even if a Blue-Eyes White Dragon got in here, and got past all of us, the most he'd do is glare dismissively at Yugi and spout off some sarcastic quip - if the Blue-Eyes White Dragons can even talk. If not, he'd roar dismissively and then stalk off to tell his master that he accomplished his mission. Though what Kaiba would hope to gain from that is beyond me."

Yugi giggled. To everyone's surprise, so did Mahaad.

An hour later there was no merriment. Yugi had tried, and failed, several times to return to his natural, non-plushie state.

"I don't understand!" Yugi wailed for what felt like the hundredth time. Yami had stopped counting. "This is a place of pure spirit, and we are pure spirits while we are here, so why can't I manage to return to my normal self? It's not like I - well, my body - was actually turned into a plush toy! This doesn't make any sense!"

"Spirit magic, aibou," Yami said. "It's one of the strongest magics there is. If you were to return to the normal world..."

"What? What would happen?" Yugi's plushie eyes managed to become even wider.

Yami spread his hands in a gesture meant to calm. "You'd be you. You wouldn't be plushie. But, your spirit is convinced you are plushie, and so that's how you would perceive yourself. It could be - embarrassing for you if you acted like you were a plush toy, while in the physical world."

"Wouldn't I just return to normal?" Yugi asked in a small voice. "Then I could return here and help..." He stopped as Yami shook his head.

"Oh, Yugi. No. Magic is in force here. It's not just some hypnotist's trick making you believe you are plushie - something that could be undone with a quick dose of reality. All the magic that made this work in the first place, your identification with Mahaad, his plushie state, the Millennium Puzzle... True magic wrought this and it is all still in play. There's no shortcut we can use. We just have to find a way through."

"Is-is there a way?" Yugi asked in a tiny voice.

"There is. If not, we will make one." Yami struck one of his most confident, arrogant poses. "Mahaad is researching it as we speak. Plush toy or not, he is not going to let anything happen to you. If worse comes to worse, I am certain you would revert to your normal state once Mahaad disappea..." Yami petered out.

Yugi shook his head. "That is not an option! I'm not going to sit around moping and feeling sorry for myself if that means that we end up losing all our friends!"

"It is good to hear you say that, Master Yugi." Mahaad walked toward them as he spoke. He shook his head in bemusement. "There is a complication. One that we didn't realize was in place." He shook his head again. "I am not sure how to get around it."

"Complication?" Yugi asked. "What is it?"

Mahaad shook his head a third time. "I don't want to..."

Yami narrowed his eyes at his friend turned duel monster turned plushie. It was rare for Mahaad to be so reluctant about anything. The last time Yami could recall Mahaad trying so hard to get around telling him something... The pieces snapped into place for him. He found himself shaking his head, too.

"Oh, no...!"

Even the misery on Mahaad's plushie face was adorable, only to be outdone by the confusion still reigning on Yugi's face. "What is going on? Someone better tell me, or...!"

"Kaiba," Yami said.

"Seto," Mahaad said at the same time. "His signature duel monster has also been turned into a plushie. Not only does his deck rival us in power..."

"More like match if not exceed," Yami interrupted.

"His identification with the Blue-Eyes White Dragons is as strong as your identification with me. And, in the past, he bore a Millennium Item. He may never admit it, but there is spirit sorcery dwelling in his soul from his past life," Mahaad explained.

"Meaning...?"

"Kaiba's deck has been infected, too. You don't have any deep connections with the monsters of Kaiba's deck, and you just aren't strong enough to change both decks without one. I doubt anyone is. We're going to need Kaiba's help to undo this."

Yugi sat down abruptly at that. "I'm not telling him," he stated flatly.

"Aibou! I'm certainly not...!"

"He looks down on me enough when I'm my normal height! I couldn't bear it if he were to see me this way - he'd laugh and..." Yugi stopped and shook his head, abject horror twisting even his cute plushie features.

"Okay. I'll tell him."

"And ask him for help," Yugi added. "In a nice way, Yami. We need him!"

"I _knew_ I should have been the one turned plushie," Yami muttered under his breath.

– – – – –  
Author's note

Next chapter teaser – Enter the Dragon(boy)


End file.
